LIVE REPLAY: Use of Trust Protectors in Trust and Estate Planning

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“Trust protectors” and “trust advisers” are new and rapidly growing concepts in trust planning. Trust protectors stand in the shoes of the trust settlor, ensuring that his or her wishes are fulfilled. They are appointed by the settlor and are independent of trustees, potentially wielding wide powers over the trust and the trustee’s decisions. Among these powers are to add or remove beneficiaries, direct distributions, veto investments, and remove trustees. The idea is the trust protector will have a global vision of the settlor’s wishes, the duties and conduct of the trustee, and the needs of the beneficiary. But these innovations come with certain administrative inefficiencies, additional costs, and complicated of drafting traps for estate and trust practitioners. This program will provide you with a practical guide to planning with and drafting the duties of trust protectors and trust advisers for client trusts.

Trust protectors – role, sources of authority, and duties

How trust protectors differ in role from trust advisers and circumstances in which each is used

Relationship of trust protectors to trust settlor, trustees, and beneficiaries

William Kalish is a partner in the Tampa office of Akerman, LLP. His practice focuses on advising individual clients and their families on their estate and trust plans, including wills, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, charitable trusts, private foundations, and limited partnerships. He also practices in probate administration, asset preservation, business succession planning for family-owned entities, and the division of business interests in the context of divorce. He is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel, formerly served as chair of ABA Tax Section, and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Stetson Law School teaching estate planning. Mr. Kalish received his B.A. from the University of Pittsburg and his J.D. with honors from George Washington University Law School.

Jeffrey M. Gad is a partner in the Tampa, Florida office of Akerman, LLP, where his practice emphasizes representing individuals emphasizing a broad range of probate, business and taxation related issues. His practice integrates the personal and estate tax planning concerns of individuals with tax and business planning for their closely-held businesses. He has extensive experience in all aspects of probate and trust administration, including the preparation of estate tax returns. Mr. Gad earned his B.S.B.A. from the University of Florida, his J.D., magna cum laude, from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center, and his LLM from New York University School of Law.